Lipton Rogers and LaSalle Investment Management have slashed the height of their controversial London 1 Silk Street office scheme in a fresh attempt to win over planners and Barbican residents.

Revised plans submitted to the City of London Corporation cut more than 10m from the western side of the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill-designed block, removing three storeys from earlier proposals facing Cromwell Tower.

The move follows strong criticism over daylight loss and massing impacts on the neighbouring Barbican Estate.

Under the revised scheme, the western section will now sit just three storeys higher than the existing Linklaters HQ it replaces, rather than six. The eastern side retains its height to relate to taller commercial buildings nearby.

Developers say the changes significantly reduce visual and daylight impacts. Terraces have been removed to prevent overlooking, with obscured glazing, façade fins and automated blinds added to limit privacy concerns.

Despite the reduction, the project will still deliver 91,142 sq m of Grade A offices – around 5% less than first proposed – targeting large trading-floor occupiers in a market forecast to face a shortage of top-tier space by 2028.

The scheme also leans harder into public and cultural benefits. A new plaza will be created on Silk Street to form a clearer gateway to the Barbican Centre, alongside a 2,282 sq m reworked public realm and a new pedestrian arcade linking Moorgate and Liverpool Street directly to the Barbican.

Nearly 1,300 sq m of retail and restaurant space is planned, plus a performance venue dubbed “Silk Street Hall” and a community-focused “Creative Community Lab”.

Sir Stuart Lipton said: “In listening carefully to feedback received, the revised scheme designed by SOM is more modest in scale, while more ambitious in public benefits. It opens itself to the community, enriches the cultural fabric of the Square Mile, and delivers clear improvements for Silk Street and its surroundings.”